For Life
by goshinote
Summary: SEQUEL to my All-Nighter fic! Two weeks after that fateful exam day, Kagome and Inuyasha are convinced that their chance meeting was no more than a fluke. Little did they know that it was actually the beginning of the rest of their lives...College AU, InuKag, lots of fluff and lots of fun!
1. Just a Fluke

Hi! After hearing so much positive feedback from All-Nighter and some requests for a sequel, I decided to go ahead and continue the story. I hope you guys like it!

As always, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters.

Chapter 1: Just a Fluke

"You want to open them together on three?"

"Heck yeah. One, two, three!"

Sango and I opened our identical envelopes from our respective schools. We were fairly certain that these were the letters informing us if we were on the Dean's List at our schools, so we'd been freaking out since I'd brought in the mail only minutes earlier.

After nearly ripping the envelopes to shreds in our excitement, Sango and I pulled out the letters and read them thoroughly.

"Yes!" Sango shouted. "I made it!" I gasped.

"I did, too!" I replied. Sango shrieked as we hugged each other excitedly.

Man, we're nerds.

"I'm really surprised," I admitted. "This semester was really hard." Sango sighed.

"It really was," she replied. "But we did it!" I grinned.

"One step closer to graduating," I said. Sango whooped.

"Okay," she said as she composed herself. "I gotta go call Miroku." With one last smile, she went to her room to grab her phone and call her boyfriend.

A certain silver-haired boy popped into my mind, but I banished him as soon as the thought came.

Instead, I pulled out my own phone to call my mom and tell her the good news.

Later that night, Sango and I were sitting on the couch in our living room talking about her recent phone call with Miroku.

"He said he was really proud of me," Sango gushed. "And he also said that the best thing about this semester was meeting me, and he's driving out here tomorrow morning so we can spend the day together," she said. I smiled.

"Then I'll vacate the apartment," I replied. "Give you guys some space." Sango blushed.

"Thanks," she said. "But we probably won't spend a whole lot of time here. He wants me to show him around town." She looked at me pointedly. "And he also asked if you wanted _the guy_ to come." My smile faltered.

Miroku told Sango that he had a friend that I might be interested in. Apparently, Sango told him about me and he assumed that this random guy and I would hit it off. Sango has been encouraging, well, I say encouraging but it's more like _forcing_ , me to meet him. She hasn't even told me his name. Not a good sign.

"Sango," I began, "you literally know nothing about this guy. What has Miroku told you about him?" Sango frowned.

"He said that he's nice," she replied. "And…some other good qualities. Sorry, Kagome. It's hard to remember what he said since he brought it up after kissing me goodbye last week." Even though I was still skeptical, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Must have been some kiss," I teased. Sango blushed. "You better believe it was," she replied honestly.

Despite the fact that she trusted Miroku enough to take his word on this guy, and that I trusted Sango enough to trust whomever she did, I was still hesitant for a potential blind date. It just seemed a little weird.

And plus…I wasn't sure if I still wanted to try this thing out with Inuyasha.

In all honesty, he'd sort of become an off-limits topic for the last two weeks in my and Sango's apartment. After pulling an all-nighter together, he had kissed me…twice. We'd swapped numbers and texted once the next day, but that was it. During that one conversation, neither of us mentioned getting together.

So I've been thinking that maybe that night was an exhaustion-induced fluke.

"I don't know…" I replied honestly. "I don't think that would be a good idea. I mean, I don't know how I feel about The Fluke and I think it would just be weird..." Sango frowned.

"Come on, Kagome," she replied. "You keep calling him a 'fluke,' but I heard how happy you were when you called me after your final. I know I keep encouraging you about Miroku's friend, but in all honesty, the way you talked about that other guy during those first few days after you met him definitely implies that he's way more than that. What was his actual name? I know you told me and it was weird, but you keep calling him 'The Fluke.' I'm pretty sure that's _not_ his name."

"Like it even matters," I muttered. "We haven't even seen each other since then. He's probably forgotten about me." _Or found another girl that bakes for him…_

Sango shrugged. "Okay," she replied. "So then you have nothing to lose by meeting this other guy. Who knows…he could be way better than 'The Fluke.'"

"You have a point," I admitted. "But no." Sango shrugged and grabbed her keys.

"Whatever," she teased. "I'm gonna go to the store. I told Miroku I would cook him dinner tomorrow night but all we have here is ramen. Do you need anything?" I referred to the mirror by the front door where we kept a dry erase board.

"I wrote some stuff down," I replied. "I was planning on going to the store later today." I grabbed my purse and fished around for some money. When I found the correct amount, I handed it to Sango. "Here's my half." Sango took it from me and put it in her purse.

Whenever we needed groceries or items for the apartment, we always split it. Living with Sango was great; we had a great system for everything and we knew each other better than anyone else. I guess being best friends since toddlerhood will do that to you.

"Thanks," Sango said as she opened the door. "See you later." I waved as she left the apartment.

I sighed and looked down at my phone on the couch next to me.

 _Should I text Inuyasha?_ I asked myself.

I picked up my phone and nearly began to type out a message to him.

But I quickly shook my head and tossed my phone back on the couch.

Even so, he didn't leave my mind. I could still feel his lips on mine, his hands on my hips, his woodsy smell cascading over my senses.

Ugh. I sound like a teenager.

"Stupid boy," I said to myself. "Flirting with me, kissing me…ugh."

So I made a decision: forget about him.

Which is why when Sango got home about two hours later, I told her that I was up for meeting Miroku's friend.

"The Fluke is obviously just that: a fluke," I said. "So sure, I'll meet Miroku's friend."

"Yay!" Sango chirped. "Oh, that's going to be so great! I'll text Miroku right now." I forced a smile and tried to be open to the idea.

The next day, Sango and I woke up early to get ready. I didn't want to get all dressed up for a guy I didn't know, so I just slipped on something comfortable that Sango deemed "semi-presentable." I couldn't help but laugh at her wording.

"They'll be here at ten," she said as she brushed her hair for what seemed like the tenth time.

"I can't wait to meet Miroku," I replied sincerely. "I'm so glad he makes you this happy." Sango smiled brightly at me.

"Thanks," she said. "Me, too."

Not too much later, a knock came on our door.

"They're here!" Sango announced happily. Bracing myself, I followed her to the door and waited a few steps behind her.

 _Here goes nothing…_

No, I was not expecting Miroku to have a small ponytail, nor was I expecting him to have his ear pierced.

I was also not expecting myself to wind up face-to-face with familiar golden-eyes, but sure enough, there he was.

Inuyasha was standing right in front of me after following Miroku inside the apartment.

As Sango quickly kissed Miroku in greeting, Inuyasha and I stared at each other.

"You must be Kagome," Miroku said to me, breaking me from my trance with Inuyasha. I peeled my eyes away and looked at my best friend's boyfriend.

"Uh, yeah," I replied. "Nice to meet you." Miroku placed a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"And this is Inuyasha," he continued.

Inuyasha and I locked eyes again.

"Yeah," Inuyasha said. "We've met."

It was unbelievably awkward.

I turned to Sango and looked into her eyes meaningfully.

That's when realization dawned on her.

"He's the fluke?" Sango asked me.

"She's the fluke?" Miroku asked Inuyasha.

I glared at the silver-haired boy. "You've been calling me a fluke?" I asked angrily. Inuyasha frowned right back.

"Obviously you've been calling me the same thing," he shot back.

"Well, _you're_ the one that kissed me _twice_ and never called," I countered.

"You kissed me back!"

"That doesn't matter!"

"Yeah, it does! And there you go shouting _again_!"

Before I could fire another argumentative statement, Sango placed her hand on my arm.

"Kagome," she said reproachfully. I frowned at her but tried to calm down.

"Why didn't you tell me that Inuyasha was the friend?" I asked. Sango frowned.

"You never told me you knew him," she replied. "You've been calling him a lot of other things _except_ for his name." She looked at Miroku.

"Did you know about it?" she asked. Miroku shook his head.

"Inuyasha didn't tell me anything about a girl," he replied.

Okay, I had to admit that hurt a little bit.

I glared at Inuyasha. "Wow," I said dryly. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I did," he corrected Miroku. "But no, I didn't include how we met…or tell him your name…oops." I rolled my eyes.

"Why not?" he asked. Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest.

"We're not women, you know," he replied. "We don't tell each other everything or always talk about 'matters of the heart.'"

"That's not even true!" I protested. "Women don't always do that either!"

"Alright, relax," Miroku interjected calmly. "Obviously this has all been a very big…surprise, but let's just try to enjoy our day." Sango smiled at his attempt to lighten the mood.

"Great idea, Miroku," she replied. "Right, Kagome?" She looked at me pointedly. Finally, I just sighed and nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "Uh, it's good to see you, Inuyasha." A civil greeting was all I could muster at that point. Inuyasha just frowned at me and grunted.

How in the world did I actually _liked_ this guy?

Then I remembered the way we'd talked, the way he'd touched me, the way he'd smiled, the way he'd kissed me.  
Oh, right. That's why.

Sango looked at the two of us and then to Miroku.

"Alright," she said slowly. "Uh, what would you guys like to do?" I didn't even bother looking at Inuyasha.

"What did you and Miroku have planned for…the four of us?" I asked.

"Well, we were going to start with brunch," she replied. I nodded.

"That sounds good to me," I said. Sango gave me a loaded glance as if checking to see if I was alright. I gave her a half-smile back.

"Then let's go," Sango chirped.

All in all, the day kinda sucked. I tried to keep a positive attitude because I knew that today meant a lot to Sango, but being around Inuyasha was really throwing me off.

I found myself being annoyed with him one minute, and then the next I was very vividly reliving our kisses in my head.

It was driving me crazy.

Finally, after pretty much going all around town showing Miroku and Inuyasha our favorite spots, we decided to head back to the apartment.

I remembered that Sango said she wanted to cook dinner for Miroku, so I pulled her aside in the kitchen when we got home.

"How about I head out for a little while?" I suggested. "You guys should have some time alone." Sango grimaced.

"What about Inuyasha?" she asked. I frowned. Oh, yeah.

Sucking it up for the sake of my best friend, I mustered up all my maturity. "I'll see if he wants to go somewhere," I replied. Sango smiled.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I know it's probably weird having to spend so much time with him after what happened…" I waved off her concern.

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "Now call your man in here to show him what you're cooking while I talk to Inuyasha." Sango blushed.

"Miroku?" she called sweetly. "Can you come here for a second please?"

As soon as Miroku walked into the kitchen, I smiled at him and walked out.

Inuyasha was sitting on the couch chewing on a fingernail. I tried to keep the frown off my face and be civil.

"Hey," I said as I sat down on the other side of the couch. "I think they want to be alone for a while. Do you want to go see a movie or something?" Inuyasha didn't even attempt to hide his frown.

"What, today wasn't enough for you?" he asked sarcastically. "Seems to me like you can't wait until I'm gone." I rolled my eyes.

"This isn't about you," I replied, trying to keep my voice level. "It's about our two best friends having some time to themselves today. She's been talking non-stop about him coming since he suggested the plan. I know today hasn't turned out how she wanted because the fact that you and I have already met made her ideal double-date totally fail. So I don't care what we do, but we need to go somewhere so they can have a peaceful evening together, okay?"

Inuyasha was silent during my little soliloquy, but then his eyes went from suspicious to almost…tempted?

"Fine," he said. "Let's go see a movie. But don't try to make-out with me at all." I rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry," I replied. "That will definitely _not_ be happening." Inuyasha frowned as I stood up and headed to the kitchen to tell Sango about our plan.

Given the gooey eyes Miroku and Sango were giving each other when I told her Inuyasha and I were leaving, I knew that getting out of there for a while was a good call.

When I returned to the living room, I saw that Inuyasha had stood up from the couch and was waiting for me at the door. "Let's go," I said.

Grabbing my car keys, I opened the door and headed out with him on my heels.

It was going to be a long night.

To be continued…

Shout out to Alannada for giving me a little inspiration from a review on All-Nighter. Thank you!

I've been spending a lot of time on this fic, so the next chapter will be up within the next few minutes…you're welcome…muahaha xD

Much love. :)


	2. First Date?

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. All rights to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 2: First Date…?

"So what movie do you want to see?" I asked Inuyasha as I drove us to the movie theater.

"I don't care," he replied. "Whatever you want to see." I stole a glance at him as I came to a stop at a red light.

To my surprise, he looked back at me. When our eyes met, I couldn't help but feel those familiar butterflies I'd gotten before he kissed me for the first time.

 _Do I want him to kiss me?_

I looked away from him and focused on watching for the light to change. Mentally chiding myself, I tried to make it to the movie theater without incident.

It was a quiet drive, but the previous animosity we'd had between us for the whole day had begun to fade a little.

The look he'd given me at that stoplight…what was that?

It wasn't until we were waiting in line to buy tickets that we spoke again.

"So which movie?" he asked. I peered at the choices, but ultimately picked a new comedy that I'd heard was pretty good.

Inuyasha nodded at my choice and reached for his wallet as I began to dig around for my own in my purse.

"No, I got it," he said as he pulled out some cash. I frowned.

"No, really," I replied. "I can pay for myself." Inuyasha smirked.

"Now what kind of date would this be if I didn't pay for you?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"This is _not_ a date," I corrected. "This is me being a good best friend to Sango." Inuyasha chuckled.

"Whatever you say," he replied. "But I'm still paying." I couldn't help but feel an embarrassed blush come to my cheeks.

"Fine," I conceded. "Thank you…but this still isn't a date." Inuyasha smirked again as he paid for the tickets.

"I'll buy the popcorn," I said as we walked up the concession stand. "It's only fair." Inuyasha shrugged.

"Okay," he replied.

Once we'd gotten popcorn to share and two drinks, we headed into the correct theater.

And it was empty.

Usually, I love empty theaters. I love being able to laugh openly and cry as hard as I want with a few close friends.

But being alone with Inuyasha, I knew, would only lead to trouble.

And the real question is…am I okay with that trouble?

I shook the question from my thoughts as we sat down in seats in the middle of the theater.

"Can you believe how hard it was to find seats?" Inuyasha asked jokingly as he grabbed a handful of popcorn. "I'm shocked we were able to even sit together." I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the smile that came to my face.

"It's a true miracle," I replied. Inuyasha took another handful of popcorn, and without thinking about it, I took his wrist and stopped him before he put it in his mouth.

"Save it for the movie," I scolded. Inuyasha paused and looked from me to my hand on his wrist and back to me.

"You know, Ka-go-me," he said, "you don't have to make up excuses. You can just hold my hand if you want." I practically ripped my hand off of him and frowned.

"Don't get any ideas," I warned. Inuyasha chuckled.

"Same to you," he replied. "Just because we're alone doesn't mean you can try to get fresh with me." Before I could protest _very_ adamantly, the lights went out and the previews began.

Inuyasha and I were quiet until the opening credits came onto the screen. Immediately, we were laughing at the movie. The comedy didn't disappoint, and I honestly couldn't remember the last time I'd laughed that hard.

And actually, I was pretty glad that Inuyasha was there with me.

About ten minutes into the movie, I reached for the popcorn that Inuyasha had settled in his lap.

And like a cliché, our hands touched in the popcorn bowl.

I felt his eyes on me, and figuring I'd probably regret it, I looked back at him.

Then suddenly the movie was gone, there was nothing else in existence but us, and we were kissing.

Inuyasha's hands instantly came up to cup my cheeks and guide my face to his. I quickly responded by wrapping my arms around his back and reaching my hands up to tangle in his hair, much like our first kiss.

His lips were soft, playful, parting. His hands eventually slid down to wrap around my waist and pull me as close to him as possible. The shared arm of our two seats was pressing against my hip, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I was relishing and living in this kiss, in the boy I'd tripped over on that fateful night two weeks ago, and I was loving it.

The kiss went on until I could hardly remember my own name and my lungs felt like they were going to explode from lack of oxygen.

Finally, after what felt like a decade, Inuyasha pulled back to look into my eyes.

We were silent as we stared at each other, and I couldn't find even two words to say.

His hands came back up to my cheeks, but instead of pulling me forward, his thumbs gently stroked my skin.

"So much for not trying to make-out with me," he teased quietly. I sighed and leaned into his hand.

"Oops," I murmured back. A smirk played on his lips.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Oops."

He looked like he was going to move in for another round, but a crunching sound between us stopped him.

We both looked down to find the source of the noise and saw that in our eagerness, Inuyasha had dropped the entire bucket of popcorn onto the floor. There were pieces of popcorn all over our laps and the floor.

 _Dang,_ I thought to myself. _Big bucket._ I laughed as I let go of him to start picking up the popcorn.

"How did we not notice when it fell?" he asked as he bent down to help me. I paused and gave him a Look. He smirked.

"Uh-huh," was all he said as he resumed our pick-up.

Once all of the pieces were mostly back in the bucket, Inuyasha turned to me again. Instead of reaching for me, he gave a small smile.

"I wish I'd done that when I saw you this morning," he admitted. I smirked.

"You wish you'd picked up a bucket of spilled popcorn?" I asked innocently. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"Of course," he teased back. "But kissing you was up there, too." I kept the smirk on my face, but it faded a bit.

"I'm actually kind of glad you didn't," I replied. Inuyasha looked confused.

"Why?" he asked. I sighed.

"You kissing me would have made me ridiculously confused," I explained. "I mean, think about it: we haven't talked since the day after we met. I figured you'd lost interest…or you realized that you weren't interested to begin with. I figured maybe you thought that night was just a fluke." Inuyasha chuckled.

"There you go with that word again," he replied. "But I get it. I thought the same thing." My eyes widened.

"Really?" I asked in disbelief. His expression went serious as he nodded.

"Well, yeah," he replied. " _I_ kissed _you_. _I_ asked for _your_ number. I thought I was the only one interested after we texted for the first time." I frowned.

"I'm sorry," I said sincerely. "Sounds like we both messed up on that." Inuyasha smiled and took my hand.

"And we messed up this morning," he replied. "But I think we finally got something right just now." I smiled back at him.

"You're right," I agreed. "I don't want to mess anything else up." Inuyasha looked hopeful.

"So…you really are interested?" he asked. I giggled.

"Duh," I replied. "You, too?" He nodded eagerly.

"I knew that night, Kagome," he said. "I knew there was just something about you…something I didn't know I needed." I blushed.

"I'm glad," I admitted. "I missed you. It sounds crazy, but I _really_ missed you." Inuyasha smirked.

"Crazy, right?" he asked. "This is only the first time we've seen each other since the exam that day, but somehow it feels like I've know you for, like, five-hundred years or something." I laughed.

"Me, too," I replied. "I feel the exact same." He took my other hand in his.

"So can we call this a real date now?" he asked. "I mean, we already kissed. We're holding hands right now…it seems legit to me." I squeezed his hands.

"Yes," I said immediately. "And I'm sorry for shouting at you this morning. I should really work on that." Inuyasha chuckled lightly and gently touched his forehead to mine.

"Eh, I changed my mind," he replied. "As long as you use that mouth to kiss me, you can yell with it all you want." I laughed at that and kissed him quickly.

"Okay," I said as I pulled back to meet his gaze. "Let's finish the movie and then…"

"Uh, Kagome?" Inuyasha interrupted. "Look at the screen." Confused, I moved my attention to the movie screen and saw the end credits rolling. My hand flew to my mouth in surprise.

"The movie is _over?_ " I asked in horror. "I can't believe it…I can't believe I just made-out with someone for an entire movie…" Inuyasha wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.

"Yeah, that's the first time I've done that, too," he replied. "But I gotta say it was worth it." Eventually, I smiled at him hesitantly, a blush bright on my cheeks.

"Then I guess let's go," I said. "I have a place I want to show you." Inuyasha smiled and nodded as he stood up.

We left the theater hand-in-hand as we quickly made our way to my car.

"Where are we going?" Inuyasha asked as I put the key in the ignition.

"It's a surprise," I replied as I pulled out of the parking lot.

About twenty minutes later, we reached our destination.

"Whose house is this?" Inuyasha asked as I parked on the side of the street in front of a house in a residential neighborhood.

I shrugged as I turned the car off. "I have no idea," I replied. Inuyasha looked skeptical.

"Then why are we here?" he asked. I smiled.

"This isn't where we're going," I replied. "Now come on." Inuyasha still looked a little skeptical, but he got out of the car and followed me as I began walking across the street.

He took my hand after a moment, and I smiled as our fingers laced together.

"We just have to go down this street and through a cul-de-sac," I explained. "There's a little path that leads to my favorite place in town." Inuyasha looked around at our surroundings.

"Are you sure we're allowed to go back there?" he asked. I paused.

"Uh, not exactly," I admitted. "We're allowed to go on the path because it's a public site, but I don't know about the place we're heading. But I've been going there for a while, and there's never been anyone around to tell me to leave or anything like that…so we should be fine." Inuyasha chuckled.

"Sounds legit," he replied. I laughed and tugged him along.

We reached the path a few minutes later, and Inuyasha's eyes widened when he saw where exactly we were going.

We actually had to cross the path and go through a small wooded area. There were train tracks that ran parallel to the path, but they were semi-hidden by the trees we had to go through to get there. A small pond was tucked away that surrounded the train tracks. It was beautiful in the early mornings; there was a light mist that settled on the water. It was a magical place.

I led Inuyasha through a small opening in the woods so we could step up onto the railroad tracks.

"Wow," he breathed as he saw the pond for the first time.

I smiled at his reaction. "It's beautiful, right?" I asked. He nodded.

"It's amazing," he replied. I led him to farther down the tracks until we reached the pond. The railroad tracks eventually came to hover over the water, so it resembled a small bridge.

Once Inuyasha and I reached the bridge part, I sat down and encouraged him to do the same. Slipping off my flip-flops, I dipped my feet in the water and relished in the sunshine warming my face.

"I come here a few times a week whenever I'm on break from school," I said. "It's a nice place to clear my thoughts or just enjoy the scenery. Sango has come with me once or twice, but this is the one place I can actually be alone. I'm always afraid to be alone for the amount of time I spend in this place, but for some reason, I'm never afraid out here." I met Inuyasha's gaze. "But it's the kind of place I want to share with you." Inuyasha smiled and took my hand.

"Thank you," he replied sincerely. I leaned my head on his shoulder as we looked out into the water.

We were quiet as we just admired the scene around us.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Inuyasha said, breaking our long silence. "I made the Dean's List." I lifted my head and smiled brightly at him.

"Really?" I asked. "That's great!" Inuyasha smiled back at me.

"I'm convinced that the only reason I made it was that A I got on our Economics final," he admitted. "And I guess I should thank you for that. Not only did I meet an amazing girl, I actually did well on the exam." I laughed.

"I'm pretty sure that night is why I got an A, too," I replied.

"Did you make the Dean's List?" he asked. He smiled turned to a smirk. "But I'm assuming you did. Obviously you're a smart one." I laughed again.

"Yeah, I did," I replied. "And yeah, I am a smart one. Apparently you are, too." Inuyasha chuckled.

"I knew you were," he said. "And thank you. I don't hear that one a lot." I shook my head before leaning back on his shoulder.

"I get the smart vibe from you," I replied. "And I get the good vibe…and the honest vibe…and the strong vibe." Inuyasha shifted so I would raise my head.

His hands came up to cup my cheeks. He looked at me for a moment, and then he leaned in to kiss me.

This was a quiet kiss; it was the kind of kiss you never forget. I've learned that there are kisses that get lost along the way in a relationship, but this is one I know will stick out. It's the first one I've ever felt this way with, and I knew it would forever be my favorite.

When Inuyasha pulled away with a smile on his face, he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.

We stayed like that until it got dark outside, and that's when I realized how late we'd been out.

"We should probably go," I said as I began to stand up. "I like this place, but it can get creepy when it's dark." Inuyasha nodded and stood up next to me.

"Yeah," he replied. "And Miroku and I are heading home tonight. This was just a day trip." Sadness filled me as I realized our time together was coming to an end.

Inuyasha took my hand as we walked, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Although a melancholy feeling was settling in my chest, I felt a wave a happiness come over me.

This was real.

The drive back to my apartment was quiet, but Inuyasha held my hand the entire way. I had to admit it was a little hard to drive one-handed, but it was worth it.

When I pulled into my parking spot outside the apartment, Inuyasha stopped me before we got out.

"So I know this might be dumb," he began, "but I still think I should ask." He looked into my eyes and squeezed my hand. "Will you be my girlfriend? I mean, will you upgrade from the wonder-girl I met one night, the girl that makes me feel like I've never kissed anyone else, to my actual girlfriend?" I laughed and squeezed his hand.

"Yes," I replied. Inuyasha smiled and let go of my hand.

"Cool," he said. "Now we can go inside." I giggled as we got out of the car and made our way to my apartment.

After I unlocked the door, I opened it and called out, "We're home!" I wasn't sure if we would be interrupting anything, so I figured I'd let Sango know as soon as we walked in.

"We're in the kitchen," Sango called back.

Inuyasha and I made our way into the kitchen and found Sango and Miroku sitting at our small dining table. They were holding hands across the table and Sango had a dazed look on her face.

"Hey," she said. I could tell she was trying to clear her mind and focus in on us. "How was your…outing?" I stifled a giggle.

"It was great," I replied. "We saw a movie." _Well, we saw about ten minutes of it…_

I decided to save that little fact for when Sango and I were alone.

Miroku sighed. "This has been great," he began, "but Inuyasha and I should probably go now. It's almost ten." Sango face fell.

"Okay," she said in disappointment.

I took Inuyasha's hand and tugged him toward the living room. "We'll give you guys some privacy to say goodbye," I said. I wriggled my eyebrows at Sango, and I was glad to see that it brought a small smile to her face.

"And we have a goodbye of our own," Inuyasha said after we were isolated in the living room. He pulled me into his arms and held me tight.

I felt tears spring into my eyes as I held him just as tight.

Inuyasha pulled back slightly so he could look into my eyes. "I'll visit again soon," he promised. "Miroku probably won't be able to stay away from Sango for very long." He smirked. "And I _know_ I won't be able to stay away from you either." I laughed but felt a few tears trickle down my cheeks. I quickly let go of Inuyasha to wipe them away.

"Sorry," I said as I tried to regain my composure. "I know it's silly to cry." Inuyasha only smiled and wiped away my last tear.

"It's okay," he replied. "It means you'll miss me." He left his hand on my cheek and I leaned into it as he moved in to kiss me.

After only a few moments, our kiss was interrupted by a girlish gasp.

Inuyasha and I pulled away from each other to find Sango and Miroku staring at us with their jaws practically on the floor. I felt a blush creep onto my face.

"Uh," Inuyasha said slowly. "Surprise?" Miroku and Sango only laughed.

"We were hoping that would happen," Miroku admitted. Sango looked at me pointedly, and I knew we were going to have a _very_ long and in-depth conversation after our guys left.

"Inuyasha, are you ready to head out?" Miroku asked, leaving the newfound relationship alone. Inuyasha nodded.

"Yeah," he replied. With one last quick hug, he let go of me and waited for Miroku to finish his not-so-quick hug with Sango.

When they finally parted, Miroku and Inuyasha headed to the door.

The last thing I saw was Inuyasha tossing his trademark smirk at me, and then they were gone.

Sango immediately whirled on me.

"Kagome!" she shouted. "You and Inuyasha?" I laughed.

"Yes," I replied. "Me and Inuyasha." Sango pulled me over to the couch and sat us down.

"Tell me everything!" she commanded.

It took me longer than I thought to fill her in on "every little detail" as she'd requested, and I could've sworn she was going to burst with excitement.

"This is so great!" she said. "We're best friends and now we're dating best friends!" I rolled my eyes good-naturedly, but I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

"What about you and Miroku?" I asked. Sango blushed.

"He said that he loves me," she replied. I squealed.

"Oh my gosh!" I shouted. Sango laughed.

"He said he knows that it's a little sudden," she replied. "I mean, we've only been dating for about a month-and-a-half, but he said he didn't think it mattered." She blushed again. "He actually told me he knew he was in love the moment her first saw me." I smiled widely.

"I'm so happy for you, Sango," I said sincerely.

"Thank you," she replied happily. She began to fill me in on the rest of her evening spent with Miroku, and I felt a content warmth fill me.

That feeling I'd had after Inuyasha had walked me to my dorm had returned: the feeling that something beautiful was beginning.

But this time, I knew it had already begun.

To be continued…

Eek! Major fluff!

I based the scene where they went to the pond on an actual place in the town I live in. The real place truly is a magical one, and I wanted to include it in this fic. I hope you enjoyed that little tidbit and the overall fic itself! More chapters are soon to come so stick with me! :)

Much love. :)


	3. Bright Future

*French-accented voice from Spongebob* Two…months…later…

Haha I'm back, guys. This is a short chapter, but it's a good one (at least I think so but I might be biased).

Also I FINALLY updated How Far We've Come, so if you're already following it, go check it out! If you haven't read it, still go check it out! ;)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. All rights to Rumiko Takahashi.

Chapter 3: Bright Future

"And then root beer shot out of her nose because she was laughing so hard!"

The table erupted into laughter at my own expense. I tried to give Sango a reproachful look for telling Miroku and Inuyasha about one of my most embarrassing moments, but I could only chuckle along.

"That's why I _never_ drink root beer now," I explained. The laughter increased as Inuyasha wrapped his arm around me.

"It's never a dull moment with you," he said as he quickly kissed my cheek.

This was the third time Miroku and Inuyasha had come to visit us since my boyfriend and I had become official. They worked together, so their days off were usually the same. Those days had been when they would drive to my and Sango's apartment to spend the day with us.

During this visit, we'd decided to go out and try a new restaurant. Miroku had ordered root beer, and had questioned me when I crinkled my nose and stifled a gag.

That's when Sango had told him the story of when I snorted the beverage out my nose at something funny she'd said in one of the few classes we'd shared together. After that, the professor had banned all drinks from class. Talk about embarrassing.

"I'm glad you guys can find some humor in my mortification," I teased. That only set them off again.

"Sango, dearest," Miroku said as he turned to her. "You must have some sort of embarrassing moment like Kagome's. Care to share?" Sango thought for a moment.

"Actually, yes," she replied. "It was at a Christmas party that Kagome's family had hosted a few years back, and it had to do with Kagome's weirdo cousin and some mistletoe…" As she dove into her story, Inuyasha took my hand under the table and laced his fingers with mine.

We'd talked about breaking away from Miroku and Sango so we could have some time alone, which we knew the other couple wanted, too. We'd driven in separate cars for that exact reason.

Then we'd started telling stories and we'd gotten distracted. I could tell my boyfriend was eager to get out of there, but we would have to wait a little longer. We were having too good of a time to end our evening with Miroku and Sango.

But then he started stroking my hand with his thumb…and then I started feeling antsy.

Sango finished the story about ten minutes later, and even though I was ready to get out of the restaurant, I couldn't help but contribute to her embarrassment. It was actually a really funny story, so I figured Inuyasha could wait a little longer.

Once the story was over, I gave Sango a discreet Look. She nodded and turned to Miroku.

"Do you want to go to that little café I showed you last time you visited?" she asked sweetly. Miroku smiled at her and nodded.

"We'll catch up with you two later?" Sango asked Inuyasha and I. We both nodded eagerly. After paying their portion of the bill, they left.

Soon after Inuyasha tugged on my hand.

"Let's head out, too," he said. I quickly moved to follow him as he stood up after paying. I'd been waiting for some alone moments with him all day, and now that it was finally happening, butterflies were zooming around in my stomach.

We decided to just go back to my apartment to watch a movie. Knowing our past experiences with movies, I knew we probably wouldn't see too much of it. Memories of our first "date" made me blush as I drove off in the direction of the apartment.

When we arrived, we headed straight to the door and as soon as I closed it behind us, Inuyasha was wrapping his arms around me and leaning down.

Our lips met in a soft kiss that slowly built up. He deepened the kiss not too long after, and I could feel how much he had missed me from that one kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and titled my head to try and pull him impossibly closer.

When we pulled away to breathe, Inuyasha wrapped me in a simple, tender hug. His hands brushed up and down my back as we just held onto each other.

"I missed you," he murmured in my ear. "I know I told you that this morning when we got here, but I'm saying it again." I giggled and kissed the crook of his neck where my head was settled.

"I missed you, too," I replied. "Like, I missed you so much it was stupid." Inuyasha laughed and released me. He led me over to the couch and sat, pulling me down next to him.

"What movie do you want to watch?" I asked as I grabbed the remote. Inuyasha stopped my hand by taking it in his own.

"Actually, I need to talk to you about something," he said seriously. The smile had disappeared from his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concern instantly filling me. Inuyasha looked nervous.

"Well, nothing is really _wrong_ , exactly," he began. "It's just…um, I've been talking to my dad lately." I smiled.

"That's great!" I encouraged. Inuyasha shrugged.

"Yeah," he replied, not as enthused. "I mean, It's been hard. There's a lot of stuff that we needed to talk about. We needed to air out all our dirty laundry, you know?" I nodded. I knew he was talking about his mother's death. He and his father had stopped speaking after his mom's tragic death.

"But, yeah," Inuyasha continued. "I went over to his house for dinner a few nights last week and it's been pretty good." I smiled.

"I'm so happy for you two," I replied. "So what made you guys start talking again?" Inuyasha avoided my eyes and fidgeted nervously.

"Uh, well," he stuttered, "that's kind of what I want to talk to you about." His hold on my hand tightened as he finally met my gaze.

"It was time for me to make amends with my dad," he explained, "because I wanted him to meet the girl I love." My eyes widened as I took in Inuyasha's words.

Inuyasha took my other hand in his. "Kagome, I love you," he said simply. "I've known since that all-nighter." Tears started to gather in my eyes but I tried to will them away.

"I love you, too, Inuyasha," I replied. "So much." Inuyasha smiled brightly and leaned forward to kiss me.

After his lips left mine, he pulled me against him. We just held each other for a few moments until he leaned back to cup my cheeks in his hands.

"Will you come home with me soon?" Inuyasha asked. "Maybe the next time we come visit?" I nodded excitedly.

"Yes," I replied. "And will you meet my mom, too? She should meet the boy I love." Inuyasha grinned.

"It depends on what you've said about me," he teased. "Any bad things?" I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, yeah," I replied sarcastically, barely able to suppress a laugh. "I told her all about how you were sleeping instead of studying the night before a final." Inuyasha chuckled.

"Dang," he joked. "I guess I'll have to really impress her when I meet her. I can't leave her with that idea of me." We both laughed as I snuggled against him again.

We wound up turning a movie on, but we talked through pretty much the whole thing. Inuyasha wanted to hear about my younger brother, and it only seemed fair to warn him about how hyper Sota could be. I knew that he would like Inuyasha, so I wasn't too worried.

When Sango and Miroku got home a couple hours later, I knew it was time to say goodbyes.

I decided to walk Inuyasha out to his car to give Miroku and Sango some privacy to say their own farewells. And, yeah, I wanted some privacy with Inuyasha, too.

As soon as we reached his car, he pulled me tightly against him. "I love you," he said softly. I smiled and leaned up to kiss him.

"I love you, too," I murmured against his lips.

Miroku met us at the car several minutes later, so Inuyasha and I took it as our cue to let go of each other. I smiled bitter-sweetly at him as got behind the wheel and Miroku walked around to the passenger side.

"See you later, Miroku," I said with a smile and a wave.

"Bye, Kagome," Miroku replied, mirroring my smile.

Inuyasha rolled his window down to give me a final kiss goodbye.

"I can't wait to meet your dad," I said quietly to Inuyasha. He smiled widely.

"Me neither," he replied.

I stepped away from the car so that Inuyasha could pull out of the parking spot. I waved until they were out of sight; luckily, this time I kept my tears at bay. Things were growing stronger between us, and I knew that the future was bright.

It was all because I loved him and he loved me.

To be continued…

I've already started working on chapter 4, so it should be up within the next few days. I'll try to make it great ;)

Much love. :)


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